Designed here, for the world
Designworks on why a clear design approach has become critical for success on the world stage
The thinking
At the core of Designworks’ thinking is the drive to take New Zealand stories to the world and give them the traction they need to hit the ground running in offshore markets.
This design thinking is also characterised by a meticulous approach to setting strategies, crystallising a brand’s difference in the market and realising its potential. The team at Designworks aims for a mix of strategic logic and creative magic for clients.
Way beyond the traditional confines of branding as packaging or even just marketing, Designworks’ role is to help a client define, design and deliver their unique story into the lives of consumers.
The ability to make design ‘work’ is to redesign how business and brand can go to market. This requires getting inside the business and forging close working partnerships, rather than the traditional ‘arm’s length’ approach – it is a commitment to put design at the core of business planning process.
The ultimate goal is to deliver work that has a transformative effect on a brand experience and business performance.
The doing
Zealong tea – the quality of purity and origin In 1996, Tzu Chen and his son Vincent imported 1,500 tea seedlings from Taiwan into New Zealand. They were left with only 130 after a rigorous quarantine from New Zealand’s Ministry of Agriculture. But after careful propagation they managed to plant thousands of them, spread over 40 hectares in the Waikato.
Zealong is literally selling tea to China, as well as other Asian and European countries.
Moreover, it is selling a New Zealand perspective on a product with a new, dynamic take.
By amplifying the fresh and inventive side of the New Zealand personality there was license to re-frame how a cultural beverage such as tea could be ‘re-enjoyed’ and different markets could reconnect to it. Through design, Zealong liberates tea from tradition and opens people up to new occasions, flavours and feelings in a way that the New Zealand character is free to do.
zealong.com Methven – the qualities of a New Zealand design vernacular Five years ago Methven relaunched its brand, identity and new product lines. Already a local success, the New Zealand design pioneer was known for its next level technology of the ‘satinjet’ and its synchronised design style, but aimed to truly capture the imagination of international markets.
Based on user insights, the drive was to create a new way of delivering the true transformative power of shower. Methven wanted to show the world that New Zealand can be a leader in design, creating ingenious shower products that fit everyone’s individual needs, wants – and quirks.
The most recent work is a result of a collaborative exercise to find the sweet spot that revealed the real opportunity to start new shower conversations, making the shower topic more interesting and relevant, and in doing so connecting to more people, new markets and opening up the category.
It’s all about connecting the dots – how form and function actually relate to different people – and showcases New Zealand design-thinking at work work. methven.com Nature Baby – the qua qualities of ethics, nature and fam family Nature Baby is a local su success story. Its essential qualit qualities reflect the idea of a New Zealan Zealand lifestyle, its perspectives perspectives, priorities and ethics, as w well as our connection to enviro environment and family.
Qualities of New Zeala Zealandness at its best relating to an au authentic experience is something the world naturally buys int into.
So with Nature Baby there is a story of ‘goodness’ well told throughout the operation. Hence, the need to be careful not to compromise on ethics, organic nature and what is best for the family, regardless of the market. That’s the heart of their ‘promise’.
The Designworks approach:
• Find it – clearly define and
understand the unique quality • Amplify it – express the difference in the most powerful and universal way • Codify it – standardise and manage the offer, products and experiences as it grows